Nov. 10, 2016

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The Bearcat

Being the UC mascot may be a more difficult job than you think

Women’s Soccer

Team learns a lot from this soccer season

THE NEWS RECORD / UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI THURSDAY, NOV. 10, 2016

NEWSRECORD.ORG

UC reacts to Trump’s election win Students call election results ‘saddening,’ ‘something to be fearful about’

LAUREN MORETTO | NEWS EDITOR

Shocked is the general consensus for many University of Cincinnati students after last night’s election upset in which Donald Trump skirted Hillary Clinton for the presidency. An anxious nation watched Tuesday night as election results pooled in. Trump took swing states Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Ultimately, Clinton’s 228 electoral votes trailed behind Trump’s 279, thereby securing his win. Of the nearly 700 counties that twice sent Obama to the White House, a whopping one-third flipped in support of Trump, according to The Washington Post. Though there is a divide in America, we never realized how deep the divide went, said Aditya Roy-Chaudhury, a thirdyear operations management student and president of the UC

Democrats. “Now with this election we’ve seen that this gap is way wider. Nobody would’ve ever thought,” said Roy-Chaudhury. About 55 percent of voters aged 18-29 voted for Clinton, while only 37 percent voted for Trump, according to exit polls by The New York Times. Some students offered strong reactions on the election results. As a minority, Roy-Chaudhury called a Trump presidency “something to be fearful about.” Other students, like Francis Shuckerow, a third-year political science and environmental policy student, said they were “terrified” and “at a loss for words.” This fear instilled in some students may stem from Trump’s rhetoric toward these groups. “The things that worries us is that some of the sentiment that he’s said, things against Muslims, against African Americans, against women,” said Roy-Chaudhury, who

said electing him in spite of this rhetoric shows it’s acceptable. Social media builds up a perception of Trump as a racist or homophobe, according to David Purtell, a second-year education student, member of UC College Republicans and a Trump supporter. “I just don’t think that represents him at all,” said Purtell, referencing Trump inviting Caitlyn Jenner to use the restroom in Trump Tower. “He’s a president for all the American people no matter what their sex or orientation,” said Purtell. Not everyone agrees with Purtell’s assessment. “[Trump] made Islamaphobia mainstream,” said Amina Darwish, a UC alumna and member of the UC Muslim Students Association, who noted the sharp spike in hate crimes against Muslims during the course of 2015 — which were up 78 percent, according to a report from the Center for the Study of Hate

and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. “We’ve had incidents happen to students on campus,” said Darwish. Chopping these strong emotions up as merely a reaction to social media build up is inaccurate, according to Darwish. “This is not made up. The levels of Islamaphobia and the levels of racism [have] increased. This is not hysteria, these are documented incidents, and because these are our lives we feel them,” said Darwish. “These are my friends, these are my family, these are people that I know that are now dealing with this.” As America looks ahead to Trump’s presidency, there are those who hold on to a hopeful future. “It’s saddening to see our country vote for hate. But if we stick together we can get through it,” said Sophia Closson, a first-year fine arts major. Senior reporter Justin Reutter contributed to this report.

AARON DORSTEN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Trump supporter tells Hillary supporters they are the ones with hate on McMicken Commons, Wednesday Nov. 9, 2016, day after presidential election.

AARON DORSTEN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Hillary Clinton supporters sitting and engaging with students day after presidential election on McMicken Commons, Wednesday Nov. 9, 2016,

SHAE COMBS | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

President-elect Donald J. Trump smiles at Ohio crowd during rally in West Chester March 13, 2016.

Men’s soccer season concludes, future looks bright JASON SZELEST | STAFF REPORTER

The University of Cincinnati men’s soccer team’s 2016 season has officially concluded. Following a 1-0 loss at the University of Central Florida on Saturday, the Bearcats wrapped up their year with a record of 9-7-1. Had the Bearcats managed to defeat or tie UCF, their season would have continued with a berth in the American Athletic Conference tournament. However, the Golden Knights were able to tie the Bearcats in overall points in the conference with the win, and took the fourth and final spot in the tournament due to winning the head-to-head matchup. “The outcome was disappointing because we lost the game,” said head coach Hylton Dayes. “We all knew what the game meant, the fact that it was almost an elimination game.” Dayes was ultimately frustrated by the fact that his team was unable to put together a goal in the contest. “We had a goal called back for offside. We also

had a penalty kick that was appealed and was not given,” Dayes said. “At the end of the day, we have nobody to blame but ourselves because ultimately we did not score in the match.” The disappointment continued for Dayes, who believed that if his team won and made the conference tournament, they would be fully capable of making a run. “You always have a chance,” Dayes said. “We were the only team to beat [the University of South Florida.] They would be playing on their home field, but I think our guys had a belief that we could continue our season.” USF is the No. 1 seed in the tournament Looking forward, there is potential within the Bearcat roster for next season. “[My biggest takeaway was] the promise of our team,” Dayes said. “The fact that we lost six seniors and a lot of people were saying this was a rebuilding year. I do not think there was a lot that was expected of our team.” Due to the loss of six

seniors last year, this was a young team, but it did not seem to negatively impact them. “We didn’t think too much about how or how old is this guy or whatever. Once it came down to it everyone

was mature in pulling their weight and just trying to get wins for the team,” said senior midfielder Nick Melville. Despite not making the tournament, Cincinnati finished with their most

successful season since 2010. “It is disappointing that we finished up the season the way we did, but I feel like the future is very bright for this group,” Dayes said.

N.C. BROWN | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Senior goalie Pedro Diaz (1) stands in the box at Gettler Stadium in the final home game of the season for men’s soccer against Eastern Illinois, Tuesday, November 1, 2016.

THE STUDENT VOICE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

A student

perspective

as Tensing faces jury KINSLEY SLIFE | NEWS EDITOR

Closing statements in the case against Ray Tensing for the killing of Sam Dubose have presented the jury with a bevy of overwhelming information — so emotionally taxing in a way that I couldn’t have understood before witnessing my first live court case. I entered the overflow room on Nov. 9 with no predisposition for how it might feel to see the law at work, or the impassioned repercussions that came with the law’s presentation. Immediately, the jury was faced with the task of discerning narrative from fact as the judge reminded the court that closing statements are not in any way to be considered evidence. As a University of Cincinnati student, being mentally placed in a juror’s seat was a test of my own internal deliberations. This small facet of the law was one man’s fate. To start, the prosecution began with an ending thought. “The bullet from Ray Tensing’s gun did not stop the threat, it killed Sam Dubose,” said Hamilton County assistant prosecutor Mark Piepmeier The prosecution’s argument stood primarily on broken down stills from evidential body cam footage, the testimonies of three eyewitnesses and the question of whether Tensing’s perception of the situation justified his actions. Events were laid out for members of the court according to the prosecution’s perception: Officer Tensing is next to the car when soon after, he pulls the gun, shoots and falls to the ground. The events that lead Tensing to the ground were supported by a precise breakdown of the seconds. When the gun appears on camera; when the car is last seen sitting still; the moment the car becomes in motion. Two screens in the overflow room broadcasted the trial live, but a clear view of jurors’ body language was minimal and foggy at best. Regardless, the enormous pressure I felt in the presence of a national case happening in real time had been anything but lessened by my view. A short recess eventually led court bystanders to the defense’s presentation of events. This narrative rested on two key points: “The threat” and subsequent body cam footage of traffic stops completed by Tensing earlier on that July 19 day. Footage of previous stops was slated to prove to jurors that Tensing was a “good cop.” “The threat,” a term I would eventually hear somewhere upwards of 20 times within my two hours in the overflow room, was used to justify the mere seconds in which Tensing would pull the trigger. I was faced with a truckload of evidence spun and analyzed several different ways by both the prosecution and the defense, merely as a member of the Cincinnati community. Still, I felt overwhelmingly conditioned and disarranged by variations of a dynamic narrative with reoccurring buzz phrases like: “mashed the accelerator,”“stop the threat” and “perception of being dragged.” Luckily, these happenings were not mine to disentangle. Following closing statements, the jury deliberated for four hours before deciding to return the next day. The decision of justice for one man’s future and one man’s past lies heavily in the hands of just 12 people, left to discern the difference between narrative and fact.

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Nov. 10, 2016 by The News Record - Issuu